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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Murphy's law on hair cuts and stay at home motherhood.

It's Murphy's Law. Or divine order. Or maybe black magic. I don't know. But some law of the universe makes it so every time, EVERY TIME, you are about to get a hair cut you have the most surprising of "good hair days."

Weeks have gone by that your hair was a disheveled and straggly mess. You throw it up in clips and head bands and look forward to that fresh hair cut. But the day of the fated appointment, your hair is unexpectedly stunning. It's lustrous, full of life and falling in all the face flattering ways. You might even get a compliment. Then you go in for that hair cut.

And it is probably this same principle that is allowing me a stellar "stay-at-home-mom week" just as I'm about to embark on a new job. The children have been lustrous, full of life and falling in all the adorable and face flattering ways. And I'm going to leave them.

Hey, I'm excited to start work. I have gotten something of a dream job at an exciting young organization I whole-heartedly believe in. I'll be working with bright, motivated and to-the-person likeable people. I'm Looking Forward To It!

I wrote a little while ago about the key to not feeling horrible about where ever you land in the Stay with The kids - Go To Work continuum is to find your personal balance, know that it's not the same for everyone, and expect to face some trade-offs no matter your decision. I think this job will allow me to achieve as glorious a balance as I can hope for. Most of the time I'll be able to have lunch with my kids, I have a healthy amount of vacation and the organization believes in work-life balance. And the actual work with allow me to be creative, analytical and engaged in issues I care about - all things I've been short on. Huzzah!

But then there's the "good SAHM" week I'm currently reveling in.

My baby's starting to understand my questions and requests, shaking his head "yes" or "no" in response like we're having an honest-to-goodness conversation. Every day it seems he's learning a new word "toto" (tortoise), "tante" (assante/Swahili for thank you), doof (juice), "doobleblopple" (I love you mom. Obviously). He's doing iconic-ly adorable things like running around the house naked, giggling after each bath.

And don't get me started on my eldest. I took him swimming, and for the first. time. ever. he let go of the side of the big pool and started paddling around By Himself!! I was there, right next to him, as the surprise and delight spread through his face and became so much glee it burst into laughter. "Mom I'm DOING it!! Ha ha ha ha!!" This week he came home from school, pulled out a piece of paper and practiced his letters on his own, sweetly asking me, "Is this one right mom?" Later, he looked at me earnestly in the eyes and said "I'm really sorry that you're coughing mom. I want you to feel better." If I could bottle that kid's sweetness, I'd never have to buy sugar again.

And it's not just child adorableness that made this a "good SAHM week." I wiled away a few mornings visiting with just about the best group of mom friends I could ever hope for. We let our babies run around as we sipped coffee and had comfortable and connecting conversations that left each of us feeling uplifted, supported and loved. It's the kind of community I wish on every SAHM. And my afternoons I spent with my neighbor and one of my closest friends, sharing food, playing with our babies, leaning on each other's shoulders and laughing at each other's jokes.

I found time to write. To do yoga. To read.

This "good SAHM week" - the magical moments with my children and the time spent in the sisterhoods I relish - could not have come a worse time.

But I need to remember that I'm not giving all this up. My friendships will endure. I'll continue to have magical moments with my children. I'll find a new balance and maybe it'll be even better than this one.

I'm embarking on a new... haircut. I hope it's as flattering as the last one.

1 comment:

You nailed it with the dichotomy of perfect hair day before a haircut, perfect SAHM week before starting a new job. This works conversely too. Complete melt-down awfulness tends to happen, in my life, right when I think I'm close to achieving something like an entirely positive outlook or a newly finished article without typos. Like today, when I didn't save a final draft. While I was using my Inside Screaming Voice as I tried to retrieve the file, beans on the stove boiled over and the dog pooped on the carpet. Grrr.

Who is Mama Mzungu?

Mzungu: [m'zungu] noun. A Swahili term for White person or foreigner.

In Kenya women are often referred to in relation to their first born.So, living here in Western Kenya I’m no longer Kim, but “Mama Caleb” or, if you don’t yet know Caleb, “Mama Mzungu.” (Mother of that white kid we see around town).

So, this blog is about my becoming Mama Mzungu and many other other misadventures.For a full story, go here.